PHILADELPHIA –- The Center for High Impact Philanthropy at the University of Pennsylvania will host its inaugural seminar, “Addressing the Needs of Vulnerable Families,” on Monday, Nov. 8, featuring Cory A. Booker, mayor of Newark, N.J., as the keynote speaker.

            Booker recently made national headlines for securing $100 million from Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and $25 million from Pershing Square Capital Management founder Bill Ackman.  In the past four years, he has raised almost $250 million in private philanthropy in order to turn Newark around.

            The seminar, a collaboration between Penn’s School of Social Policy & Practice and Wharton School and the Annie E. Casey Foundation, will provide an overview of the challenges faced by many needy families during the current economic times.  It will also address the ways in which philanthropic dollars can make the biggest difference.

            “We may be officially out of the recession, but countless families across the country are still hurting,” Katherina Rosqueta, CHIP executive director, said.  “The donors who are participating in our seminar recognize that, and they’re coming to learn the most high-impact ways they can help.”

            The seminar emerged from the Center’s findings in its “I’m Not Rockefeller” study of 33 high-net-worth philanthropists who agreed to anonymously discuss their approaches to charitable giving.

            “What appealed to several donors in that study – and what has attracted our seminar participants from across the country – was the chance to learn among peers in a purely educational forum, where they would have access to the best thinking and latest research but where no solicitation was involved.  That’s a very rare opportunity for donors but one that is critical for achieving impact,” Rosqueta said.           

            The seminar is not open to the public.

            Additional information about the Center for High Impact Philanthropy is at http://www.impact.upenn.edu

Those interested in the seminar can follow the activities by using the #DonorEdu10 hashtag at http://twitter.com/#search?q=donoredu10 or by following the Center’s Twitter feed at http://twitter.com/impactsp2.